Fluid applicators



March 29 39% H. E. JASS ETAL 33%,522

FLUID APPLICA'I'ORS Filed 0st. 25, 1963 .[S/DGEE 0662 014 INVENTORS United States Patent 3,242,522 FLUID APPLICATORS Herman E. .lass, Hartsdale, and Isidore Ugelow, West Babylon, N.Y., assignors to Revlon Research Center, Inc., Bronx, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 25, 1963, Ser. No. 318,991 3 Claims. (Cl. -572) This invention relates to a roll-on applicator such as used for the application of a fluid deodorant to the body.

The usual form of these applicators includes a reservoir or container which also acts as a hand-hold, a spherical or ball-shaped liquid applying element and a cap which cooperates with the ball and the reservoir to seal the latter when the applicator is not being used.

In the past, as well as at the present most of the manufacturers of this general type of roll-on applicator have made the reservoir of an ordinary, low density polyethylene Which is resilient, readily yieldable and compressible and they have used and are now using a low impact polystyrene material for the cap which will fracture easily upon the application of relatively low forces. With this type of applicator it has been and is possible to force the cap into screw threaded engagement with the reservoir to seal the latter when the applicator is not in use. This is because, even though the polystyrene cap is fragile and fragments easily the polyethylene of the container yields to accommodate the movement of the cap and thus tends to prevent the fracturing of the cap.

In applicators of this general type, it is ditiicult to construct the parts with the necessary close tolerances which must be attained and maintained while the cap is repeatedly screwed into and released from its sealing positions, This desideratum is difiicult to attain in applicators formed of the types of polyethylene and polystyrene above referred to.

To attain these desirable results we propose to use a linear polyethylene for the container. It is stronger and it is not as compressible or yieldable as the ordinary low density polyethylene. We also propose to use with this linear polyethylene container, a medium impact polystyrene cap. With these materials the necessary close tolerances may be attained and maintained during the repeated removal from and return to the container. With these materials the polystyrene cap will resist the reactive forces set up by the screwing of the cap on to the linear polyethylene container without fracturing. However, it must be realized that if the cap is screwed upon the container to too great an extent so that high counter forces are set up it is always possible that the cap will fracture and so we have provided means for preventing such fracturing.

Our invention contemplates the use of an applicator which comprises a reservoir or container made of a linear polyethylene, wherein the container includes a reduced neck portion which carries external screw-threads and extends from a shoulder on the body portion of the container, wherein a cap is formed of a medium impact polystyrene which carries internal screwthreads complemental to those on the neck of the container, wherein a ball-applying device which also acts as a valve and is relatively harder and less yieldable than either the container or cap, is seated in a valve seat at the outlet end of the container and protrudes therefrom for application purposes, wherein the cap, when screwed onto the neck of the container, engages the ball and forces the same into sealing contact with its seat through the reactive forces applied to the cap through the engagement and tightening of the screw-threads, and wherein means is provided to permit sufiicient tightening of the cap for sealing purposes and yet to prevent such tightening as 3,242,522 Patented Mar. 29, 1966 will create suflicient reactive forces to fracture the cap or will make removal of the cap difiicult.

In the drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of my invention,

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the closed applicator;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view with the cap removed; and

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view with the cap in place.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings comprises a container 10 for the liquid that is to be dispensed, the body portion of which container may be of any convenient form. It is preferably cylindrical. This body portion or reservoir is provided with an integral neck portion indicated generally by 12, the neck portion being of smaller transverse dimension than the body portion, thus creating a shoulder 14 which is of annular form. From this annular shoulder the neck portion is reduced at 16. The reduced portion 16 is provided with an annular beveled shoulder 18, with which the reduced neck upper portion 20 merges. This upper neck portion is provided with a screwthread 22.

A ball retainer 24 extends upwardly from the upper neck portion and receives and retains the fluid applying ball 26. This ball not only acts to apply the fluid but also acts as a valve which is seated on the valve seat 28.

Between this retainer 24 and the upper neck portion 20 is a circular resilient portion 30 having a re-entrant angle 32.

The component parts of the neck portion and the body portion are formed of linear polyethylene or of a material having equal characteristics, which will give to this portion of the applicator the necessary rigidity to maintain the form and relationship of the component parts and yet will not be fragile.

The cap 34 is provided with a ball seat 36 on the inner face of its dome and the lower portion of the cap is provided with screw-threads 38 complemental to the screwthreads 22.

This cap is formed of medium impact polystyrene and consequently has greater rigidity than the container portion.

When the cap is screwed upon the neck of the container by the engagement of the screw-threads 22 and 38 and the turning of the cap, the cap will freely screw upon the threads until the ball 26 engages in the seat 36 on the inside of the cap. Thereafter as the cap is turned a reactive force will be created through the ball 26 between the cap and the neck of the container and as the screwing of the cap is continued this force will be increased by the reaction between the screw-threads and between screw-threads on the cap and the shoulder 18 on the neck of the container. Consequently a force is created which, if the cap is unduly tightened on the neck, will increase to such an extent that the polystyrene, being comparatively fragile, will be fragmented and the cap thus rendered useless. To overcome this disadvantage there is provided means interposed between the body por tion of the container and the lower edge 40 of the cap which is yieldable and yet will prevent the cap from moving on the screw-threads to such an extent that sufficient force to fragment the cap will be developed. This means includes a plurality of nibs 42 which extend upwardly from the shoulder 14 and are arranged in spaced relation to each other around the shoulder.

In the event that the cap of an applicator is screwed on the neck of the container to such a degree that further movements of the cap will tend to fragment the cap, the lower edge 40 of the cap will engage the nibs 42 and the motion of the cap will be arrested by a cushioning action since the nibs are formed preferably of polyethylene, but in any event are resilient and compressible. The nibs also will tend to hold the cap in its tight position when the ball is tightly seated upon its seat 28. Additionally, the spaced nibs will facilitate the removal of the cap because of the relatively small area contact between the cap edge and the nibs with the consequent low friction factor and the freedom from abnormal release torque.

While we have described a particular embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that some modifications may be made within the scope of the claims.

What we claim for our invention is:

1. A roll-on type fluid applicator which comprises a container portion having an externally screw-threaded neck of linear polyethylene and a shoulder between said container portion and neck and an internally screw-threaded open end cap of medium impact polystyrene, said screw threads being interengageable and operable to move said cap toward said shoulder and discrete linear polyethylene nibs on said shoulder and spaced from each other circumferentially around said shoulder and engageable with the lower edge portion of said cap at its open end at spaced locations, only, to limit and cushion the movement of said cap towards said shoulder and to efiectuate frictional contact with said cap at such spaced locations.

2. A roll-on type fluid applicator which comprises a container portion having an external shoulder thereon, and an open end cap telescopically engaged with said container, interengageable means on said container and said cap for moving said cap towards said shoulder upon relative rotation of said container and said cap and cushioning and frictional means on said shoulder for engagement with the edge of said cap to limit and cushion the movement of said cap towards said shoulder and to effectuate frictional contact with said edge at spaced locations only, said means comprising discrete nibs arranged in spaced relation to each other circumferentially around said shoulder, and said cap is constructed of medium impact polystyrene and the portion of said container engageable with said cap is constructed of linear polyethylene.

3. The combination recited in claim 2 wherein said cushioning and friction means on said shoulder is com prised of spaced linear polyethylene nibs.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,749,566 6/1956 Thomas 15-572 X 2,876,926 3/1959 Gronerneyer 220-39 3,010,596 11/1961 Williams et al 21543 X 3,090,987 5/1963 Ruekberg 15572 3,117,691 1/1964 Williams 1505 FOREIGN PATENTS 809,709 3/ 1959 Great Britain.

ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Examiner. 

2. A ROLL-ON TYPE FLUID APPLICATOR WHICH COMPRISES A CONTAINER PORTION HAVING AN EXTERNAL SHOULDER THEREON, AND AN OPEN END CAP TELESCOPICALLY ENGAGED WITH SAID CONTAINER, INTERENGAGEABLE MEANS ON SAID CONTAINER AND SAID CAP FOR MOVING SAID CAP TOWARDS SAID SHOULDER UPON RELATIVE ROTATION OF SAID CONTAINER AND SAID CAP AND CUSHIONING AND FRICTIONAL MEANS ON SAID SHOULDER FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE EDGE OF SAID CAP TO LIMIT AND CUSHION THE MOVEMENT OF SAID CAP TOWARDS SAID SHOULDER AND TO EFFECTUATE FRICTIONAL CONTACT WITH SAID EDGE AT SPACED LOCATIONS ONLY, SAID MEANS COMPRISING DISCRETE NIBS ARRANGED IN SPACED RELATION TO EACH OTHER CIRCUMFERENTIALLY AROUND SAID SHOULDER, AND SAID CAP IS CONSTRUCTED OF MEDIUM IMPACT POLYSTYRENE AND THE PORTION OF SAID CONTAINER ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID CAP IS CONSTRUCTED OF LINEAR POLYETHYLENE. 